Immigration

Chapter 1

This is a subject that is hard to talk about because some people want to make it about race. For me it has nothing to do with race but everything to do with what is right and what is wrong. This country was built on immigration. People came here from all over the world to make a better life for themselves and their families. That was good for them and good for the country. They wanted to be Americans. They didn’t want to be Germans or Japanese or French living in The United States. They wanted to be Americans. That is the way it has to be if immigration is going to work. That is the way this country was started. Now that this country is up and running and I must say, very successful, many people still want to come here and make a better life. Once upon a time all you had to do was get here and start your new life. That’s not the case anymore. Now there are rules of law for immigration into this country.

Some people who want to come here will follow the law and wait to come here legally. Others will and have come here illegally because they want a better life. I understand them wanting a better life. I believe most people want a better life. I just believe it must be done the legal way. The other option is to allow anyone and everyone to come here to become citizens whenever they want. I don’t think anyone would think that is a good idea. We can’t just let everyone in. That would be a recipe for disaster, given the current terrorist climate that exists today. Unfortunately while many seek to destroy this country and all that it stands for. Many others only want to make a better life and call it home. If there was a way to differentiate between the two, open boarders would be great. The problem is that it can’t be done. Another problem is - there are people who follow the law and do all that is asked of them to become citizens. It would be very unfair to them if we allow some to become citizen when they entered illegally along with millions of others. If we grant amnesty to the illegals that are here now, what incentive would others have to follow the law?

I was watching the news and they were interviewing a man who said he been in this country, illegally, from Mexico for more than 40 years. He was married and had children but still illegal. The part that upset me the most was that he needed a translator. How can anyone live, work and raise a family in this country for more than 40 years, not be able to speak English. The answer is because we make it very easy for them, almost everything is bilingual. If an immigrant truly wants to be one of us then they must be like us. That means they must learn to speak the language. If we provide all or most information in multiple languages, there is less incentive to learn English. Language is the one thing that binds or unifies a society. This is also a safety concern for me. This is a true story that happened while I was in the military and it relates. I was working in the emergency room at an air force base one weekend. The rest of the hospital for the most part was closed. An Asian woman in her late 50s or early 60s came in clutching her chest. She didn’t speak English so we had to assume she was having chest pain. We ran an EKG, drew blood and took her vitals. We were guessing at the language she spoke and making calls to find a translator. It took some time but a translator was found and came from home into the E.R. to bridge the language gap. When all was said and done, the lady had indigestion. The point is this could have been a life threatening situation. If we put more pressure on people living here to learn the language it could save their life and we all could be better off.

Chapter 2

It is hard to have a rational conversation with some people on this subject because passions run very high. People that believe in amnesty for those that are here illegally like to call those who oppose them, racist. Being called a racist in America is a very bad thing. The problem is when you are called a racist it is hard to prove that you are not. Most people will back down to avoid the racist label. Since it is just me putting my thoughts down on paper and I know in my heart I’m not a racist, I will not worry about it. If this gets published then that will be a horse of a different color.

In general there are two groups of people that support illegal immigration and amnesty for them. People of Latin decent and those who wish to exploit them. I’m sure there are people outside those groups who are in favor of amnesty but I am speaking in general. I have asked people who favor amnesty if they think we should have immigration laws and they always say yes. I ask if they think people should be able to go back and forth across the boarders as they wish without boarder security and most will say no. When you break it down and ask the questions one at a time most people will not favor illegal immigration. They want to help poor people coming here to support their families. I understand that and I too would like to assist them. I also understand that we can’t help everyone. If we as a nation are not secure we will not be able to help anyone and that includes ourselves.

Most of the attention is focused on the Mexican people. Some would say all of the attention is focused on the Mexican people. I’m sure others are here illegally. I think we should target all people. Maybe Mexican people are the majority of people coming across the southern boarder but they are not the only ones here illegally. There are people who fly into this country legally and never leave. There are people who drive across the boarder legally and decide to stay. No matter how they get here, if someone is here illegally and we allow them to stay, it is wrong. If we target one group of people while leaving others alone when both are breaking the law, them we are wrong. If we are truly a nation of laws then those laws must apply to all people equally. If the legal system allows people from Europe to stay here while targeting Mexican people, then the system is wrong. If people from Asia are allowed to stay and the people from Mexico are not, then the system is broken. If people from Africa are allowed to illegally migrate to the United States and justice turns a blind eye then that is injustice to us all. A great man once said “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”.

I wish I could say that I had all the answers to all the problems that face this great nation, but I don’t. This country has some very complicated issues it must deal with. As far as I can see there are no simple answers. Immigration has to be near or at the top. It is not as complex in general as it is made out to be. It only gets that way when it is broken down to individual families. I will attempt to break it down and explain it the way I see it.

People come here because the feel the can earn more money here than they can in their home land. They need it to provide for their families. I have nothing but love for people who want to provide and make a better life for their family. The problem is it must be done the right way. When it is done the wrong way people can and will use that against them. They will be paid less than what is legally allowed for the labor they are providing. They can be forced to work in unsafe environments. They may be forced to work longer hours then what is legally allowed. They can’t complain because they themselves are breaking the law may be forced to return to their homeland. Even though they are not being treated fairly it is better than what they have back home so they will stay quiet. The people who employ them know this and are making more money by pay illegal wages. This is where it gets complicated. The families and people enter this country illegally. They settle down, give birth and raise a family. The child or children by birth are American citizens and the parents are not. The question then is should the child or children be deported with the parents. Some would say this is a difficult case and I don’t think it is at all. The child or children should go with the parents unless they have someone here to care for them. Some would say it is unfair because the child is a citizen. I say when the child is old enough to care for themselves they can return. Parents are separated from their children everyday because the parent broke the law. For some reason there are people who think this is different. The child may be 9 or 10 years of age and have been here all their life. They have a home, in school, and have friends here. I agree with that argument because it does seem like it is unfair. The thing about it is that life itself at times seems unfair. When you have laws and rules that apply to everyone and some choose to break them due to their perceived necessity. The person or people being caught may feel the system is unfair. My example for this is rather simple. Let’s say I have three children. I have been in my home for fifteen years and never been late on any of my bills. My wife and I along with my fictional children all love our home. Now let’s say my wife and I both lost our jobs. Without having the money to pay our bills we would have to leave our home that we all love dearly. We would have to leave because there are rules to living in a home and raising a family. There are rules we must follow in life itself. In this case, we must pay the mortgage or rent each month to stay in the home. Even though we want to continue to live there, without the money we would be forced to leave. If we all only follow the rules and laws that are convenient to us this country would look a lot different. We can not allow people to break the law because we feel sorry for the law breakers. Everyone feels sorry for someone. People who are in favor of illegal immigration like to point at the children because they know that is a soft spot for most Americans. When you make decisions based solely on emotion I believe you will make the wrong choice.

Chapter 3

It is funny to me when I hear people describe illegal immigrants as hard working, law abiding people. They may be hard working but I find it difficult to call them law abiding. They broke the law when they entered the country. They break the law every day that they stay in this country. They break the law every time they work without permission from the federal government. Those are just the laws that I know about, there may be others. I without a doubt agree that most are hard working. Here in Las Vegas I see Mexican people doing manual labor and that is not easy work. I just refuse to ever say that the ones that are here illegally are law abiding when they are breaking laws every single day. I will say that if you ignore the laws that the illegal immigrants have broken, then they are law abiding people. When you think about it the same can be said about everyone, including the people in prison. When you ignore the laws they have broken then they become obeyers of the law. If you agree with that then the next question I would ask is. What makes this group of people so special that they should be given amnesty? After you answer that question, I have another. Should all people in the United States illegally be given amnesty or only the Mexican people? Still more questions. Do they have to be from what is considered a poor country? Is Mexico really a poor country or poorly governed? What should the parameters be that allow a person or group of people to willingly break the law? Keep in mind this is federal law. Last question is do laws even matter?

Some would say that illegals don’t take work away from Americans. I disagree with that and I will tell you a true story to show that is not the case. I know someone who needed to have their front and back yard landscaped. They told me they called a few companies and got estimates. The cheapest one said $1000 for the front yard and $4000 for the back yard. The estimates came from licensed contractors. Before they decided on a contractor to do the work a friend told them about a group of illegals that would do the work really cheap. After looking at some work the men had done and liked what they saw they decided to use them. They contacted the workers and agreed on a price of $2,500 including tip. They used these men, saved quite a bit of money and were happy with the work they did. If these men were not around a legal company would have made around $5000. Because of this story I know for a fact that illegal immigrants do cause Americans work. It is my understanding that this group of men did several jobs in that neighborhood so it caused Americans more money than I previously stated. Therefore when people say illegals do the work Americans will not do. That statement is not complete. What they should say is Illegals do the work that Americans will not do for the same price.

When you look at the way the economy is you can’t fault people for trying to save money. Still that doesn’t make it right but I understand. If the economy continues to get worse people will more than likely hire illegals more frequently? People try to cut corners and save as much money as they can. Hiring these workers allows them that luxury. Even some of the people that are against illegal immigration will hire them if they are hurting for money and they need to get the work done. I include myself in that statement. I have never used them but if the conditions were bad enough I would think about using them and I am strongly against them being here. I don’t believe I am alone in the way I feel.

When I look at the people from Mexico I see people I see people who want a better life. Their government doesn’t provide much in terms of social services. There is not much work available to them at livable wages. Social services and wages is something they can get here in the United States without much effort. They can make more money here illegally than they can legally in Mexico. The Mexican government doesn’t force the employer to pay them a fair wage. The Mexican government doesn’t force the employer to provide a safe work place. I don’t claim to be an expert on Mexico. I have only been to Tijuana. When you cross the boarder headed to Tijuana you see lots of slum looking areas and I can understand people wanting to leave. I know people who vacation in Mexico and they talk about how nice it is in places like Cancun, Guadalajara and Acapulco. That makes me wonder why the illegals don’t migrate to the nicer places in their country. If it is their government they have a problem with then why don’t they have marches in Mexico like they do here in the United States. It is my understanding that Mexico is a democracy in theory. On paper Mexico is a federal republic with powers separated into independent executive, legislative, and judicial branches similar to that of the United States. Senators are elected to six-year terms. The congress is composed of a senate and a chamber of deputies. Of the 128 senate seats, 96 are filled by direct election and 32 are chosen by proportional representation from party lists. The president is elected by popular vote for one six-year term and cannot be reelected. Consecutive reelection is also prohibited for all legislators. In the lower chamber, 300 deputies are directly elected to single-member districts and 200 are on basis of proportional party representation. Deputies serve three-year terms. It is an openly corrupt system where bribery is the way things get done. Much like that of the United States only they are more open about it. As bad as their system is one would think they would vote to change the way things are done there rather than come here to change the way things are done here. I even saw a man being interviewed as an illegal immigrant holding a Mexican flag. He was saying through a translator that he is a proud Mexican man and loves his country. All I could think while watching him was if you love your country so much and truly proud of it then why did you leave. If all that he was saying was true why didn’t he stay and try to fix the things he perceives to be wrong or broken in his beloved country. Like I said I am not an expert on Mexico or the laws of the country. It just seems that if the people from Mexico can come here and organize themselves and hold rallies and marches. They can organize peaceful protests for the rights they want in cities across the United States of America. If they can do all of this here do you not think they should have the same passion in their homeland of Mexico? In their defense maybe they have tried or they are trying and it has not made it to the news or things that I have read here in the states. If they are trying and the government is suppressing them then maybe our government should get involved. GOD knows our government gets involved in everything else. In general I am not in favor of interfering in other countries affairs but when their policies or injustices directly create problems for the United States them we must get involved. The best interest of this nation and its citizens should and must always be paramount. That is something I feel our political leaders have lost sight of. That short sightedness is mostly due to special interest groups and the people they represent. Their desire to profit off the backs and labor of the illegal immigrants is the only thing that matters to them. It is in their best interest for things in Mexico to stay the same if not to get worse.

Let’s face it, there are lots of us who would do the same thing if we were in the shoes of the Mexican people and I include myself. I’m not saying we all would do it but many of us would. If you are hungry enough and feel you have no other options. Many would steal rather than starve too death. When you add in seeing your family suffer, your choice becomes much easier. In most cases people will rationalize it in their minds that no one is being hurt. Even when they do realize that someone is or could be affected by their actions. They can still rationalize and say they are only one person breaking the law so the harm is not that bad. The problem is when you multiply that slight hurt by millions of people the hurt becomes great. Great harm is being done to this country by illegal immigration. It is difficult for me to understand that our political leaders don’t see this. Then again maybe I am not seeing the picture correctly. As I have said before I am a very liberal person and I feel sorry for the Mexican people but the way they have chosen to deal with their problems is wrong. The answer is not to illegally migrate to the United States. The Answer must be to stay home make the necessary changes in Mexico. My analogy for this is: my neighbor has lots of things wrong with their house. Broken windows, leaking roof, doors will not close and broken locks as well as many other things. They are behind on their mortgage and don’t have the money to catch up or make the much needed repairs to their home. One day when I get home from work I find that they have broken into my home and refuse to leave. I ignore them at first then they start to invite their family and friends to join them. Then they start to tell me how I need to add more rooms to my house and fix things that are going wrong with my house, like the windows, doors, locks and leaking roof. It is hard for me to believe that anyone would think that this would be okay. Anyone and everyone would be outraged if this was to happen to them. I find no difference between that example and illegal immigration.

These people are poor and they want to improve their way of life. They want to provide for their families. I see nothing wrong with that. The Mexicans are a proud people and they want to support their fellow countrymen. I totally understand and respect that. What I don’t understand are those people who support those who willingly break the law because the law stands between them and financial success. The law is there for a reason. If we are not going to enforce the law, then those laws should be removed from the books.

Chapter 4

Have you ever asked yourself why the law is not being enforced? All the other laws are being enforced, as far as I know. The only answer I can come up with is: someone is making lots of money by ignoring the problem. Think about it: if you owned a business and hired illegals, you could save lots of money. You could save on no health insurance, no taxes, and no worry about sick pay. They can pay below minimum wage. Also there is no paper trail with illegals. So as you can see there are advantages to using illegals. I don’t think the savings are going to be passed on to the consumer. The owner is going to sell their product for as much as possible. It is not illegal to get as much money as you can, but I think it is wrong. Just because it is legal doesn’t make it right. If people would do the right thing we would not need the laws. The thing is that laws are not always right, because people make them. Also, the lives of people are so complicated and that makes it difficult. The laws can’t be fair to everyone but should reflect the needs of the population as a whole. I am yet to hear any government official explain how not enforcing the existing laws is beneficial to the population. You don’t hear it done, because it is not fair and it is not right.

I’m not sure what the solution should be. I don’t think the local police should be out trying to round up all the illegals. I don’t think they should be checking the legal status of every person on routine traffic stops. If it is things like, DUI, car chase, Assault & Battery, Robbery or anytime an arrest has to be made; that is when I would want the legal status checked. I would also go as far as to say if someone applies for social services, the social security number should be checked. If the number and name does not match, then the federal government should be notified. It could be an immigration issue or identity theft.

If you are a business owner, you should always match the name and social security number. Again, when they do not match, the proper notification must be made and documented. When this is not done the business owners should be required to pay a heavy fine for each employee with a bad social security number that was not checked. If all of this is done, it will not get rid of all the illegals but most of them would return home. I would not want to spend taxpayer’s money to hunt illegals. It would be much cheaper and easier using existing laws to pressure them into returning to their home country. Even doing all of that I’m sure we will still have some here. I know it is not a perfect plan. I don’t and would not want to hunt them down like animals. Just to pressure them into returning home. It would also catch some of the people out there committing identity theft. I’m not saying that illegals are hard criminals, but they are breaking the law by being in this country.

What I don’t understand is the regular, everyday person like me. We don’t, as they say, have a dog in this fight. Why do people like me support illegal immigration. I know we are a very giving people in general. We like to help others. This is a good thing and would love for that to continue. We should always want to welcome all who want to come and assimilate. We should want to help those who are less fortunate than we are. We should not want to assist others to the detriment of ourselves. This is one of the times that I don’t think many people are looking at the big picture. We all need to look at the big picture. We would all agree that this issue is really hurting us. This is not about race. It is about what is right and what is wrong. We as citizens of this really great country must do the right thing. We can not look to the government or political leaders to do anything. Everyone should know by now that big business owns the government and the people elected to run it. That includes both parties, Democratic and Republican. The parties are not going to help us. We must do this for ourselves. We must come together as one. We must think for ourselves. We must not go along just because someone associated with our political party said so. We must pay attention to those who support this issue and vote against them. If there is a business that supports illegal immigration then we must not do business with that company. The only thing that companies care about is making money. They don’t care about people. The only way they will respond is if they start to lose money. When they find out that they are losing money, they will make changes. If enough people care about this country and make it known, companies will respond. I know I can not change anything by myself, but I am doing what I can.

When Exxon spilled oil and didn’t clean it up, I stopped buying gas from them. To this day I still don’t buy gas from any station that has an Exxon sign on it. If more people felt the same way I do and did the same thing I am doing: what do you think Exxon would do? If I have a big problem with what a company is doing or something it has done, I don’t do business with them.
I don’t think I would ever hire an illegal to do work for me; even as bad as times are, and it would save me money. I would not hire them because I feel it would be wrong. It would be wrong because of what I believe in. More important, in my eyes, it would be wrong for the country.

Chapter 5

We as Americans in the past had pride in our love of our country. Now I’m not so sure anymore. Now it seems like we have more pride in our political parities, than we have in our country. I for one am proud to say that I am an American first and above all else. The only things that exceed my love of country are my love of God, my wife and family. I don’t call myself “African-American”. I call myself an American. I have only one citizenship. I define my race as black, but I am one hundred percent and nothing but American. Even though I love this country very much, I can still see that there are many things wrong with it. I love it enough to want to see it doing better. I think it says a lot for us when people from other countries think enough of this country to want to move here. They are saying our country is better than theirs. It is so much better; they are giving up their homeland to become one of us. That should be a compliment. The thing is; it is only a compliment when it is done the right way. I put lots of emphasis on the “right way” part. If someone looks at my house and yard and likes it and wants to see inside, that is a compliment. If someone breaks in just to look around, even if they don’t steal anything, this is an insult to me. Some might say the illegals broke into the country, not my home. I feel that this country is my home. If you really respect this country, you also respect its laws. Our laws are what make this country special.

For many people this has become a touchy subject. As I have said before, when some people talk about this, it gets turned around on them and it becomes a race issue. If you really listen to people talk about it, you will find that it only becomes a race issue when the defenders have lost the discussion. People can’t have a discussion and exchange ideas anymore. Now when they talk they are trying to show you where you are wrong and they are right. If they think they are wrong, it is a blow to their ego. It should not be about ego. It should be about exchanging ideas and understanding how other people think or feel about the subject at hand. I’m sure everyone knows someone who is not capable of having a discussion; with them it always turns into an argument.

It amazes me how American citizens will rally to stop people from speaking out against illegal immigration. They will get together to suppress a citizens’ first amendment right to speak freely. As I watch this being acted out on my television screen, what I am seeing is a group of American citizens, not illegal’s, trying to prevent another group of American citizen from speaking out against noncitizens breaking the law. Why would anyone want to stop me from saying that I don’t want people to be free to break the law without any repercussion? Most of the people who protest are in what I call sheep mode. They are just following the crowd. Most of them could not put together two sentences without repeating talking points. It’s not their fault. Most people are followers, not leaders. Most people will think for themselves to a point. Once they are within a group they stop thinking and start following. If we would all think for ourselves, using rational thought, void of emotion; most of our problems would go away. That still would not stop our political leaders from trying to bend us over.

Recently the Democrats tried to pass an amnesty bill for illegal immigrants by attaching it to a war funding bill. This bill would have allowed illegal farm workers to have a path to citizenship and stay in this country. If this is really important, why does it need to be attached to another bill? Why does it not stand alone? I don’t believe it takes a rocket scientist to figure out who is paying the politicians to push that bill. Farmers pay the illegals next to nothing while saving millions by not using American citizens. It is not hard to understand why the farmers want to keep illegal’s in this country. If the illegal’s leave they will have to pay citizens a fair wage. They don’t want to do that and they don’t have to. As long as Democrats and Republican leaders are for sale, business will continue to buy.

The Mexican illegal’s are in a unique position. The Republicans want to use them to make lots of money for them and will fight to keep them in the country as long as possible. The Democrats want to use them to get their votes and will fight to keep them in the country as long as possible. I don’t believe either party cares about them as a people when there are no cameras around.

War

War – Watch the DVD “No End in Sight”

Chapter 1

This is a very difficult section for me to write. I say this because we are a nation of hypocrites and I say this to include myself. The rules we impose on others don’t apply to us. Nothing shows that more than our view on war and foreign policy.
When our country was attached on September 11, 2001, I was in the Air Force on Temporary Duty (TDY) in San Antonio, Texas. I was attending a computer class. The class was terminated and we were sent to our hotel rooms after we were told what happened. When I got to my hotel room and turned on the television I could not believe what I was seeing. After seeing that destruction and hearing that it was a terrorist attack I can’t tell you how angry I was. I could try but I don’t think I could ever show the true level of anger. I was ready to go to war that very day. If it meant I had to die in the process of getting the people responsible, then so be it. I could not believe we could be attacked like that, killing so many people. Even as I write this I can feel the anger rise again.

Let’s look at this way: let’s change the location of the attack. Let’s put it in Iraq and let’s change it from airplanes to missiles. My point is it doesn’t matter what the delivery is. 3000 dead is 3000 dead. I think what makes it so hard for us is we don’t fight that way anymore. We used to but we have evolved. Back when this country was being formed the rules of war was to dress up in uniform and march out in the open and shoot at the enemy. What the U.S. did was hide behind trees and in bushes and fire. If there was a Geneva Convention at that time we would have been in violation. Much like the tactics people in the Middle East are using against us now. As much as I disagree with the tactic they are using, if things were reversed I would do the same thing, except for the suicide part.

People can say anything they want but the truth is we feel like we are better than people of other countries. Think about what we are doing in other countries. Now imagine another country doing that in the United Sates. The outrage would be from coast to coast. There is no way the American Public would stand for another country doing to us what we do to them. If you look at it that way then you will understand why we are disliked around the world.
The sad thing is that I feel we are better than the rest also. I don’t want to feel that way but I do. I guess when you hear all your life that this is the greatest country on planet earth, you start to believe it. You also believe it because so many people from so many countries come here to call home. Most of the people who talk bad about this country would live here if they could. I love what this country stands for and the opportunity it offers. Still you can not deny the hypocrisy we show towards the rest of the world.

Some of it has to do with culture. That still does not change the fact that we have double standards and we use them according to our interest. Example: North Korea has nuclear weapons and detonated one to prove it. Our President did nothing and after some time passed decided to try diplomatic talks. Iran is trying to get the information needed to build a nuclear weapon and he is already talking about attacking. The only difference I can see between the two is the lesser nuclear threat is in an oil region. The country we chose to talk to starves and limits the freedom of its people. The country he is talking about attacking has basic freedom for its people. I can’t help but to wonder if oil has anything to do with his desire to attack this country. I was all for going after the people responsible for the attacks on the twin towers. It is the twisted world police mentality we have for attacking countries that someday may pose a threat to us, if there is oil involved, that I have a problem with. We do this under the cloak of protecting the civil rights of its citizens or our allies.

I like the right wing defense of “is the world better off without Sadam?” I agree, I think the world is better off without Sadam. The problem is I don’t think it was our call to make. I’m sure there are countries out there that would say the world would be better off without George Bush. Do you think they have the right to make that call? I don’t think they do. Bush is our problem. We should not push him off on anyone else. When you look back at the history of this country, it is filled with double standards. We are always talking about preventing other countries from getting nuclear weapons. If you think about it, other countries should be trying to get nuclear weapons away from us. We have shown that we will use it. We have done it not once but twice. As far as I know we are the only nation to use it. Are we saying that we are the only nation that knows when nuclear weapons should be used? I must say that I think we are. I fear that if the countries like Iran had the weapon they might use it. I then ask myself, why do I think Iran will use it if they had it? Because that is what the American media tells me. Then I ask if the American media has spin or bias? Yes. Then I ask, is the American media wrong about Iran? I don’t know and I would be afraid to check or risk it.

Chapter 2

We are too willing to ignore the United Nations and go it alone. When there is something we want we go to the United Nations. We also encourage other countries to go there and do as they say. When the United Nations don’t do what we want, we label them ineffective and do what we want. You are only allowed to do that if you are a superpower. It’s no wonder lots of people around the world have negative views of this country. How can we expect other countries to listen to anything the United States has to say when its foreign policies are filled with double standards? I truly believe that if we applied the same policies to ourselves that we apply to other countries we would not have entered this war in Iraq. It seems that our politicians think that since we give countries money they should support whatever we do. They have not yet realized that everyone is not for sale. There are people on this planet that have principles and to them those principles are more important than money. Others have sold themselves to the highest bidder for so long that they think it is natural. Now that they have us in this mess that is the Iraq War they have found this out. Some people really do hold strongly to what they believe. They will stay true to those beliefs, and views even when faced with death. Our leaders will change theirs quickly for a few dollars without a second thought. When you look at the way our politicians do business and the way the Bush administration does its business, can anyone really be surprised by anything he does? I believe that 90% of politics is driven by personal financial gain. The other 10% is done for the country and its people. This has been the case for many, many years. The Bush administration has taken this to another level. They do things for money and they don’t even try to hide it. They do it right in your face. When you question what they do, they well you that you don’t see what your eyes are telling you. In other words your eyes are lying to you. If you ask them to prove your eyes are wrong, then they are unable to do that due to National Security or Executive Privilege.

We have wars going on in Iraq and Afghanistan and yes I believe these are profit driven wars. Bush and his boys are raking in some serious money. That’s what it is all about: money, money and more money. It doesn’t matter how many people have to die in their quest for more money. It doesn’t matter what country the dead people are from. Just get them more money. They claim BILLIONS of dollars are unaccounted for in Iraq. They can’t find the money because there is a war going on and war is hectic. When I hear “war is hectic” from Bush I have to laugh. I wonder how he knows. When he had the chance to go to war, he dodged it. Since he became president he has started two of them. He now watches the war from the safety of the white house while counting his money. You would think that the American people would be upset by what is going on in Washington DC but they are not. According to the polls that I see on television most people want the war to end and the president’s approval numbers are way down. Are the people upset yet? No, not yet. If the president was to have sex, then I think that would do it. People being killed and stealing are not big deals as long as there is no sex going on. You have to ask yourself if this is what has become of our government. I remember when the Republicans were going after Clinton about a blow job. They were on television pounding their fists, veins sticking out on their neck, and faces red because they were so appalled. Now we have billions of dollars stolen, thousands of soldiers killed, tens of thousands of soldiers injured, congress and the American public mislead with very bad intelligence, and almost a trillion dollars spent on these wars and to this the Republican party says this is okay. The Republicans beat us and lie to us until we do as we are told. The Democrats watch them and tell them to stop but they don’t get involved.

I guess I want the country to be outraged by what is the Bush-men have done to our country and our military. When I see what they are doing, I don’t understand why we as a people are so complacent. I don’t point fingers at anyone because I am not out protesting either. I can promise you one thing: I pay attention and will protest with my vote. I wish they would put the impeachment to a vote. I don’t know what I am thinking, they would rig that too. This war is being fought based on what our country deems to be injustice on another country’s people. Basically that is what we are being told. I’m not going to say that Sadam was a good guy and he treated his people with respect. In my view he was a bad and evil person. Now let’s look at this a different way: this was a different country. This country has a different culture. A culture I will not pretend to understand. This culture has a totally different belief system. This country’s culture and belief system is much more different than that of the United States. The religion there is mostly Muslim, from what I can tell. There are different types of Muslims and each type has its extremist. They fight over the differences in their religions. There are some among them who ignore the difference and live peacefully. If only everyone could be so liberal the world would be a better place.

Unfortunately the world has too many bullies. Bullies are extremists and want to control. Control as in not allowing them to decide what is best for them: not being liberal and letting them be themselves, understanding that they believe and think much more differently than we do. We decided that we could not stand by and let them live the way they were living. I understand that to a point. I too would like to liberate the world and allow them to live as free as we do. In order to do that I would have to assume that they want the same things I want. I believe that it is wrong for me to force my beliefs on someone else, no mater how strong my beliefs are. When I was in Germany I met lots of people. Most of them found it amusing that we put people in jail for smoking weed. Most of them smoke it everyday. For the sake of argument, let’s say that Germany wanted to invade us because we put so many people in jail and ruin lives for smoking weed. If they tried to put pressure on us because of our stance on weed, we would think they were crazy for trying to tell us how we should live and govern our country. It’s the arrogance in us that makes us think we are better. We have more people in jail than any other country. Let’s say that other countries were putting sanctions on us for the number of people we have in jail for non violent crimes and calling it injustice and complaining about our capital punishment laws. Most of us would want them to mind their own business. I believe that has a lot to do with why we or better yet, our foreign policy is disliked so much around the world. We say we want people to be free to choose, and then we tell them how to live and what to choose. Who is right and who is wrong?

I will be honest and say that I don’t know. I just don’t think we should force our beliefs on someone else because that means it is not free. This is the best country to live in, but that is my opinion and it is the only country that I really know. I have had periods where I have lived in other countries. The thing is; I didn’t live there long enough to say I knew that country. Unless you truly know that country, how can you say what would be best for it. Even if you do truly know the country there is still the question of, is it your call to make as to what is right for those people. Are we the parents of the world? I know parents always make decisions for their children, as they should. Normally that is not the case for adults. Adults in this country are allowed to make their own choices in most cases. That is a freedom that we have by law. Laws are different from country to country. I hear people in this country say all the time, “if you don’t like our laws then you should get out”. I agree with them with all my heart. If you don’t like where your home is then maybe it is time to move.

Chapter 3

We went to war because Sadam was a bad man. I will agree with the President on that one. Now we get down to where I think he and his side kick Dick should be fired. They are President and Vice President. Responsible for millions of people and speak for this great nation. They took us to war based on faulty information they thought to be true. I understand that people do make mistakes and I don’t fault them for that. Here is where my problem is: as the leaders of a superpower and a morally just nation, they have a greater responsibility. When we go to war there will be millions of lives at risk.

When you have that type of risk, the level fact checking should be much higher than what would normally be in place. When millions of lives are at stake and the information coming to the president means many of them will die. I would have thought that Mr. Bush would have had those facts double checked. If it came back and said millions could die, he would have asked to have them triple checked. This was a huge error and for that he should have lost his job. We invaded a county and stepped all over their rights based on faulty information. When the president found out he said, well he was a bad man anyway. Let’s look at this way: let’s pretend that the President and Vice President are doctors or company CEOs. I use those jobs because they are responsible for many people. The doctor got bad lab tests but didn’t double and triple check. The CEO got bad reports and didn’t have them double and triple checked. The fact that they didn’t make sure the facts were solid and many people died. They would have been fired. If they had any class about them they would have stepped down. I am not surprised to see them still in office because our leaders are not accountable for their actions.

The thing that I am unable to understand is Republicans went after Clinton because of a blow job and he lied about it. He was wrong for what he did. I even agreed with them on the impeachment hearings. Not because of what he did, but because he lied under oath about it. He was the president and for me he is held to a higher level of accountability. The fact that he let some chick give him head is none of our business. That should have been between him and his wife. I don’t think he should have ever answered the question. Once he decided to answer, he should have told the truth. He lied and because of that I supported the Republicans in their decision to hold the impeachment hearing. Since the Bush administration took office the party has shown its true colors. By their actions they seem to say that you are only responsible and accountable for your actions if you are a Democrat. According to Mr. Bush if you make a big mistake or do wrong, he will give you a medal. If you get caught and they try to send you to jail, he will pardon you before they get you behind bars. All of this and more is okay with the Republicans because Bush is one of them. They are a group of "party before county" hypocrites. I am not just talking about the Republicans in office. I’m also talking about the American people that continue to support them.

All I can say is that some of the people just refuse to open their eyes. They think their party can do no wrong and only look for fault on the other side. If fault is found in their party, they pretend it didn’t happen. This happens on both sides, both Republican and Democrats. That is the same attitude that got us into this war, only taken to another level.

Some people close their eyes to what this country does, pretending that this country can do no wrong. In my eyes, wrong is wrong no matter who the perpetrators are. Can we really always be right? I think we as Americans need to open our eyes to what is going on. We need to stand as one to defend this nation from our elected officials. I mean defend it against both parties, both republican and democrat. These parties do not have the best interest of the United States at heart. The officials only have the interest of themselves and their party in mind when they make decisions. When I say them, what I really mean is the big business that is funding them. We must open our eyes if we want to regain our status as the moral leaders of this world.

We went into this war without a full plan. The only plan they had was to overthrow Sadam and protect the oil. They removed all the stability the country had. All the political leaders were removed from office. The police was removed. The military was disbanded.

This meant hundreds of thousands of people out of work and a country with no security. After doing all of this the Bush administration didn’t expect what happened next. Think about this for a minute. What would happen if the same thing happened in the United States? Imagine another country invading the US and throwing Bush and his gang out of office. I know what you are thinking, “sounds good so far”. Then they get rid of everyone on the senate and house along with their staff. Okay, it’s not bad yet. Next, they shut down all police departments. Now it’s getting bad. The last thing they do is to close down our military. That would be devastating. Our government is bad and terribly broken, but we do not have chaos in the streets. If all that I said was to happen that is what we would have. The streets would not be safe. Our military was there on the streets but they were not allowed to stop looters and there was lots of it. Again, think about all that going on here at home. Some people would be happy what Bush and gang were gone. Others would be mad that another country was interfering in our business.

We have plenty of guns in this country and the people that are mad would take shots at the invaders from time to time. Now you throw in looting while the invaders watch. People start to get upset and talk to each other about what they saw. Then you add in no running water, no sewage, and no electricity. People are getting more upset. Finally you throw in rapes and kidnapping and the people are pissed. People are afraid to leave home because the streets are not safe. Imagine all this stuff happening and lasting not days or weeks but years. You see the invaders and the only thing that gets protection is the oil. I believe we would fight back, I know I would. The Bush boys didn’t understand that. I’m sure someone in the military tried to tell him but they had a plan and was going to stick to it no matter what. They only wanted to hear about what would make their plan work. The example in my mind is they are all sitting around a big table discussing flying a kite on the moon using only sticks, cord, paper and a tail for stability. The problem they are trying to decide is how long the tail should be. A general walks in and realizes what they are discussing and tries to tell them that their plan will not work because of the lack of air on the moon. They get mad and tell him to get out because failure is not an option. They tell him that unless he is bringing ideas don’t come back. After he is gone they all laugh saying “you would think a general would realize that the gravity is much weaker on the moon”. That is the type of intelligence I see in the white house.

Chapter 4

If we really wanted to hurt Sadam we went about it all wrong. All we had to do was to devote the countries resources to developing alternative energy. Like when government decided we were going to the moon. Our president is an oil guy so I think it would be a cold day in hell before he did something like that. If he would have done that he could have given or sold that information to the rest of the world making him a hero. That doesn’t even sound right, using the word hero in a sentence where I am talking about Bush. That would have removed any possibility global warming caused by people. The world would have little to no use for oil. That would have crippled Sadam. That also would mean less money for Bush and you know he could not have that. We hear the right wing talk about supporting the troops all the time, but I don’t think they really mean it. It is easy to say “we support the troops”. The truth comes when you have to show it.

If you step back and look at what happened: you can see that they don’t support anything but themselves. A while back Rumsfeld said “you go to war with what you have, not with what you want”. Just based on what he said I agree with him. When you look at the real world then I think it was a lie. Either way it shows you don’t care about the troops. Its not like we were being attacked and we were fighting back. We had been attacked a couple of years ago and therefore we had time to prepare. If you really wanted to support the troops and keep them alive by preparing them for war. There was nothing told to us that forced us to attack quickly. The decision for whatever reason was made to attack quickly with no thought on protecting the troops. I would have preferred that Rumsfeld said “we don’t go to war until we are prepared unless we are forced, because troop safety is paramount”. That would be true troop support. After the war started and they found that road side bombs were being used to kill troops: why didn’t they pull the troops back and prepare them for that type of attack? If you cared about the troops you would make adjustments with the troops as you find out more about the enemy. Would you send firemen out to fight a fire without a fire suit? The troops are going to do as they are told so it is up to the leaders to protect them. The problem is, the people at the top (Bush administration) don’t care but like to say that they do.

You want more proof? You can’t say you support the troops and then turn your back on the Veterans Administration (V.A.). When I talk about the V.A. I talk about first hand knowledge, not what someone else told me. So, how can they support the troops but not the V.A.? When troops are badly injured, they are separated from active duty then they enter the VA system. Let me first say that the V.A. varies from state to state. Some states have better V.A. care than others. I have been in some V.A. hospitals that I am ashamed to say it was in the United States. Those hospitals were not in Nevada. The V.A. hospital here in Las Vegas is pretty good; it is part of Nellis Air Force Base. The V.A. system is the problem. I believe they make it as difficult as possible for the veterans in hopes that he or she will give up and go away. I will give you an example by telling you what is happening to me. I was told by the V.A. that when I had back surgery, they would pay me 100% disability while I recovered and was unable to work. I was told that I needed to give them the name of my surgeon and the hospital where the surgery was done. Also, I was to bring them something from my surgeon saying how long I was to be off work. It has been four months so far and I am still waiting for the first dollar from the VA. I have made many calls to them and nothing is helping. My point is if I needed to rely on the V.A. to pay my bills I would be homeless (they did pay me 10 months later).

I was watching C-Span and a woman who was the Director of V.A. for Chicago, if I remember correctly; said they make it difficult because they don’t have enough money. That makes sense, and if it makes sense that it is probably true. So now the questions would be how can you say you support the troops when you don’t fund the V.A.? If you don’t fund the V.A. then what you are saying is “I support you as long as I can use you”. There is nothing about this war and the Bush Administration that makes sense to me. Here is what I get from the Bush gang. They are spending hundreds of billions of dollars on this war in Iraq. The spent no money on equipping the troops prior to starting this war. What that says to me is “send the troops into war and if they get hurt then so be it, we will just send in more”. The troops are just numbers to the Bush gang and not real people with real families. If that is the attitude of the Bush gang then it would make sense. When you don’t fund the V.A. especially after starting a war, how can you say that you support the troops? What that says to me is “we are done with you, now go away”. It’s easy to say that you support someone or something then do nothing. The hard thing is to get out there and show your support. If the Bush gang is doing anything for the troops and the V.A. then I must say they hide it well because I don’t see it.

Chapter 5

This war is wrong. Granted this is my opinion. When I say this war I am talking about the war in Iraq, not the war in Afghanistan. When we went in Afghanistan it made sense to me. We were going after the people who attacked the United States. They were hiding in the mountains there and we were going to get them. If you attack us we will attack back. I was all for that. I am still all for that. Again, I turned this around. If there was a group here in the United States that attacked Iraq and the Iraq government found out the group was hiding here and our government was doing nothing to bring them to justice. Then the Iraq government sent troops here to get them, I would understand. I would never condone another country invading the U.S. and I’m sure I would take up arms against the county doing it but I would understand why they did it. Why is it okay when we do something and wrong if another country does the exact same thing. I think wrong is wrong no matter who the culprit is. This will get me lots of flack from the right wing. They don’t believe in freedom of speech unless they are speaking or you are agreeing with them. They don’t believe the constitution applies to them. They are the only ones that should be allowed to share their opinion with the public. If you disagree with the war then you are unpatriotic. You are called a traitor and stupid and any other negative thing they can think of. These are the people who call themselves the real Americans. Most of them were too afraid to serve in the military and defend the constitution. These same people are the first to step on the rights that document gives us. We say this war in Iraq is about freedom for the Iraqi people. What we really mean is freedom for the Iraq people as long as the United States agrees. If you say you want the troops out of Iraq: the thing I hear the most is “you want us to lose”. Since when did lose become a curse word. What they are doing is using America’s ego against itself. They know what they are doing.

They see the damage they are doing to the country and do it anyway. For them the policy is winning at any cost, party before country. I think we look better as a free nation when we stand up against our government when it is engaged in an unjust war such as the one in Iraq. Can we call ourselves moral when we stand by and watch what the Bush gang is making our military do to another country? I don’t fault the military. I think they are in the middle of a civil war and are acting very responsibly for what they are faced. When I was growing up I heard many times at home and at school “winning isn’t everything”, my conduct was the most important thing. Now we are telling everyone that will listen that winning is the only thing that matters. That is the wrong message to be sending to children as well as the rest of the world. I’m not saying another nation should never be attacked but what I am saying: we should always try diplomacy first before we attack. If we are attacked first we will retaliate but not until the military is prepared, if we have that option. We must always remember that our military are people: people who have families and people who love them. We can’t allow companies like Blackwater to carry firearms and wear the American flag on their uniforms, conduct business in other counties without any oversight. Those countries see them as our military even though they are not. We are the moral leaders of the world and must conduct ourselves as such. When our fellow citizen criticizes our war policies or efforts we should listen. Asking a question or stating your disagreement makes you a free person not a traitor, we should embrace that. When you try to stifle a person’s freedom of speech that goes against the constitution and by definition would be un-American. The constitution is what makes this country what it is. That is something the right wing should be reminded of.

With all my heart I want this war to end. This is where I side with the Democrats. I believe they want the war to end like most of the American public. They are afraid to stop the funds for the war. They have been called weak for not putting an end to the money needed to keep the war gong I will admit that I also called them weak for not ending this crazy war. Now that I have given this more thought and seen the ease of the Bush veto. If they don’t give him the money he will just leave the troops there until they start getting killed. Then he will blame it on the lack of funds. I think the Democrats realize that they can’t play chicken when the other side doesn’t care.

When the first Improvised Explosive Device (IED) went off in Iraq, the Department of Defense (DOD) should have pulled the ground units back into the green zone and equipped them with armor. When the troops asked for armored vehicles Rumsfeld said “you go to war with the army you have, not the army you wish you had”. To me that means “shut up and color”. That is a saying we used in the military that means just do as you are told. Rumsfeld was asking these soldiers to put their life on the line for him and he was not even willing to listen to their complaints. I believe his response to the questions should have been “I agree you do need armored vehicles. We are pulling as many of you as possible back into the green zone until we can equip you with what you need. We didn’t anticipate the use of IEDs and for that I am truly sorry. I know I am asking a lot from you guys but hang in there. You tell me what you need to stay alive and I will do my best to get it for you”. That would have been a better response, rather than making a joke out of the question.

This last part is just some things I got from watching the DVD “No End in Sight”

*The oil ministry was the only major facility protected by military.
*17 Billion missing*No marshal law until a month or two after Sadam was removed to stop looting
*1980 – 1988 Iraq at war with Iran. U.S. give economic and intelligence aid to Iraq.
*1990 – Iraq invades Kuwait and U.S. pushed him back. The President (1st Bush) urges the Iraqi people & military to rise up against Sadam. The Shiites did just what he asked. Then our government allowed Sadam to repress and kill them.

This was allowed by Bush #1 and Clinton. The sanctions that resulted only hurt the average people of Iraq. Sadam and his friends still had the luxury life. The Iraqi people turned to religion for help.